“You should be. I spent half my fucking honeymoon crying over it. You know what I did on the first night of my honeymoon?”
“What?” I asked breathlessly.
“I cried to Todd. Because I couldn't understand why my best friend of eleven plus years could hide something so big from me.”
I slumped back into the booth as her food was set in front of her. It felt like my stomach was going to come up my throat. I looked away as she ate, and Lauren didn’t seem phased by my utter disgust at the smell of her food.
“With all of that aside, I don’t know if I can accept this,” Lauren said.
“Accept what?” I asked.
“You seeing all of my brothers. That’s why we’re here, right?”
“What?” I asked.
“They’ve been running behind you for a while now. I know they have. And judging by the expression on Luke’s face in the hotel room, they know you’re pregnant as well.”
Well, at least we were going to jump into it without dancing around the topic.
“They do,” I said
“I figured. Got it. Well, it’s weird. I’ll be honest with you. It’s weird that my best friend slept with all four of my brothers and apparently wants my approval to date them.”
“Since we’re going to go ahead and be so blunt about this, then I’ll follow suit,” I said. “I love your bothers, Lauren.”
“Well that’s good. Because I sure as hell can tell they love you.”
My eyebrows hiked up onto my forehead.
“I know you don’t understand this,” I said. “There’s a part of me that doesn’t either. But I’ve always loved your brothers, Lauren. They’re my family. Just like you’re my family.”
“But you’re sleeping with them, too. You’re pregnant by one of them, Sam.”
“I’m not here to talk about my pregnancy, because I won’t allow you to cast some sort of shadow on that part of my life. I’m terrified, and there are moments where I feel completely alone. But the idea of being a mother is growing on me, and I’m not going to let you bad-mouth that.”
“It astounds me that after so many years of friendship, you think I’d do that to you. I was there when you figured out were pregnant, Sam. What pains me is that all of you have kept me out of the loop. Every single one of you. People I consider family, just like you do. I’ve had to put all these pieces together by simply being in the right place at the right time!”
“Then let me continue to be blunt. I love your brothers. All of them, for different reasons. I love Liam for his wisdom and guidance and his ability to calm me down when I’m riled to my core. I love Luke for his calming effects and his ability to be patient with me when I’m spiraling out of c
ontrol. I love Logan because he’s fierce and raw and doesn’t give a shit about whether or not he’s being vulnerable. And I love Levi because he gets me. He understands why I do the things I do because he’s just like me, Lauren.”
“What is the goal of this conversation, Sam? Why did you really want to meet with me?”
“Because I missed you,” I said. “And I know you’re upset. I don’t like it when you’re upset with me.”
“That’s not the reason. That’s an excuse. I want the reason, Sam. I want what motivated you to pick up that phone and call me every single day for the past week and a half.”
I knew she wouldn’t give it, but that didn’t stop me from hoping that it could all work out.
“Because I want your blessing,” I said. “They’re your brothers, and you’re the matriarch of that family. If your parents were still alive, I’d want your parents’ blessing. But they aren’t here and mine don’t matter. The only opinion that matters in this situation to me is yours. And I know your brothers would enjoy having it, too.”
“Then I’m sorry,” Lauren said, “because I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” I asked. “I love them. And they love me. I have four wonderful, strong, capable men standing at my side while my entire life whips around me, shredding itself apart at two hundred miles an hour. Isn’t that what you would want for me? Men that stick up for me and make me feel cared for and enjoyed and loved?”
“You’re seeing all of my brothers, Sam. All of them. Don’t you see how weird that is? How awkward that is? You gave me such a hard time about dating and marrying a man so much older than me—”
“I joked with you about it.”